Google Ads for a paintball club

Our partnership with the GANZ paintball club began in October 2020, starting with a comprehensive setup of the account and ad campaigns from scratch. Over time, we transitioned to a flexible collaboration model, where optimization is conducted according to the client's specific request.

This case study highlights the results achieved following our most recent re-engagement, covering the period from August 13 to September 12, 2025. The primary goal of this phase was to drive a higher volume of targeted inquiries and enhance the account's overall performance.

Client profile: GANZ paintball club

ganz-paintball.com - a paintball club. Field of activity: organizing active team recreation and hosting diverse indoor and outdoor events. The club is positioned as a go-to destination for high-energy leisure in Kyiv at the VDNG complex.

Services and Entertainment: 

1. Paintball: classic, kids', and mobile paintball sessions.
2. Laser tag.
3. Event planning (corporate events and team buildings, birthdays, and children's parties).
4. Additional services and infrastructure (gazebo rentals, catering, quests and animators, supplementary services).

Client benefits

• Location: conveniently situated near the metro within the VDNG complex.
• Year-round availability: operational through all seasons (outdoor fields and indoor facilities). 
• Variety of games: both paintball and laser tag. 
• Comprehensive event management.
• Established infrastructure.

All competitive advantages and service delivery details were directly integrated into the ad copies.

Niche

The industry exhibits distinct seasonality, leading to fluctuations in traffic and conversions throughout the year. We also observed a high level of competition in Kyiv, particularly across high-frequency and commercial search queries. During peak season, the cost-per-click (CPC) rises significantly, necessitating ongoing, regular optimization of the semantic core and bidding strategies.

We carefully factored in all these industry specifics and rigorous analytics requirements during both the initial setup phase and throughout the routine optimization of the ad campaigns.

Work performed since the beginning of the collaboration

The initial phase of our Google Ads engagement kicked off with the configuration of Google Analytics. Subsequently, we configured and imported the following conversion tracking goals into Google Ads:

• clicktel (clicks on the phone number)
• contact_form (contact form submissions)
• Binotel_GetCall (callback requests via Binotel)
• click_messengers (callback requests via Binotel)

At the launch stage, we set up and deployed Search campaigns and remarketing, followed by competitor-targeted campaigns. With the introduction of the then-new Performance Max format, we initiated incremental testing of both standard PMax and Local PMax campaigns.

Ad schedule

Initially, ads were served on mobile and PC from 9 AM to 11 PM. Later, based on behavioral data analysis, a unified schedule of 9 AM to 10 PM was implemented across all campaigns. Analysis revealed that the majority of target users are most active during the day and evening: during these windows, they more frequently search for entertainment, plan paintball outings, and finalize bookings. In the early morning and late evening hours, conversion rates were significantly lower while the cost-per-click was higher; therefore, tightening the schedule allowed us to optimize the budget.

On-demand collaboration

Following the initial phase, the client and I transitioned to an on-demand collaboration model. This operational framework ensures that the primary focus remains on: 

• optimizing existing advertising campaigns;
• updating current configurations; 
• and setting up new ad campaigns or expanding functionality (strictly based on client needs or shifts in market conditions).

The overarching goal we are working toward is driving a higher volume of targeted inquiries.

A pivotal phase involved the configuration and transition to performance tracking in Google Analytics 4 (in 2023). The roadmap for ensuring accurate data tracking following the resumption of our collaboration included:

1. Creation of GA4:

• Create a new Google Analytics 4 property.
• Configure the link between the GA4 and the website (via GTM or an alternative method).

2. Goal configuration (Key event conversions) in GA4:

• Analyze legacy goals (from Universal Analytics/Google Ads) and define new target events for GA4 tracking (e.g., clicks on chat/messengers, form submissions, purchases, etc.).
• Configure these events as conversions directly within the GA4 interface.

3. Importing conversions into Google Ads: 

• Link the Google Ads account to the new GA4 property.
• Import the configured conversions from GA4 into the Google Ads account.

4. Defining primary conversions:

• Designate the imported GA4 conversions as Primary in Google Ads, enabling the system to leverage them for optimizing automated bidding strategies.

5. Goals already configured and imported: 

• ITF - clicktel (phone number clicks)
• ITF - contact_form (contact form submissions)
• ITF - Binotel_GetCall (callback requests via Binotel)
• ITF - click_messengers (messenger icon clicks)

The advertising campaigns maintained consistent performance, generating conversions regularly, while all key metrics were accurately captured through the GA4 integration, aligning perfectly with the client's objectives. To sustain high-level efficiency, we periodically refreshed the ad creatives and systematically optimized campaign settings.

Comprehensive work plan following the 2025 re-engagement:

1. Analytics and Technical configuration

• Access and Settings audit:
  • Access Audit for GTM and GA4. 
  • Configuring new tags (as required).
• Goal verification:
  • Auditing goal performance accuracy. 
  • Adjusting or fine-tuning imported goals. 
  • Removing inactive goals. 
  • Verifying goal execution.

2. Optimization and Management

• Campaign optimization:
  • Performance analysis of existing campaigns. 
  • Deactivating underperforming campaigns/ad groups.
• Budget and Strategy management:
  • Adjusting and reallocating budgets (as needed). 
  • Analyzing bidding strategies and making adjustments (as needed). 
  • Analyzing and adjusting bids based on ad schedule and device performance (as needed).

3. Semantic and Search query management

• Cleanup and Negative Keyword optimization::
  • Processing search queries and PMax insights. 
  • Expanding the negative keyword list with irrelevant queries. 
  • Pausing underperforming keywords.
• Semantic expansion:
  • Adding high-converting search queries to the relevant keyword groups.
  • Integrating new keywords based on seasonality or service updates (as needed).

4. Ad copy and creative refresh

• Content updates:
  • Auditing and updating ad copy (PMax and responsive ads). 
  • Refreshing creatives (factoring in pricing, seasonality, and services). 
  • Optimizing responsive ads for better performance.
• Extension updates:
  • Auditing and updating extensions and refreshing creatives.

5. Testing and Expansion

• Work with PMax and Audience:
  • Adding supplemental PMax asset groups (testing various audience signals: interests, search themes, and remarketing). 
  • Adding audiences to the "Observation" setting.
• New campaigns:
  • Configuring and testing new campaigns (as needed).
• System recommendations: 
  • Actioning system recommendations to enhance overall account health and quality score.

Tools for work

Google Analytics 4 for deep-dive analysis of on-site user behavior, tracking key events, and evaluating the overall effectiveness of marketing channels.

Google Tag Manager for centralized management of all tracking tags, streamlining their deployment, updates, and website configuration without requiring direct code modifications.

Google My Business essential for managing corporate information (address, business hours, reviews) across Google Search and Maps, which is critical for driving local visibility.

GAds Keyword Planner - the primary tool for keyword research, analyzing search volume and competition, and forecasting performance for Google Ads campaigns.

Ahrefs for in-depth competitor analysis, expanding the semantic core, and uncovering niche search queries that aren't always visible in the standard Keyword Planner.

Google Trends is used to analyze search query popularity dynamics over time, which helps identify seasonality and broader market shifts.

Looker Studio for data visualization across multiple sources (GA4, Google Ads) and creating interactive reports and dashboards for streamlined performance monitoring.

Google Gemini for drafting ad copy and analyzing or structuring large datasets and performance reports.

Advertising performance results 

The advertising campaigns operated at full throttle, consistently driving targeted traffic and delivering a steady stream of conversions for the paintball club. Let’s take an in-depth look at the key performance indicators from our collaborative efforts during the reporting period (August 13 - September 12, 2025).

Performance metrics including conversion volume, average cost-per-click (CPC), and cost-per-conversion:

The account demonstrates high overall conversion efficiency, boasting a CR of 20.46% with an average CPC of 7.37 UAH and an average CPA of 36.01 UAH.

Based on the screenshot, the Local campaign is the absolute frontrunner in conversion volume (accounting for nearly 80% of the total) while maintaining the lowest cost-per-conversion (8.42 UAH). A high conversion rate (31.71%) further solidifies its efficiency. Conversely, the low CTR is standard for PMax campaigns.

The Brand campaign shows the expectedly highest CTR, signaling robust brand affinity. However, the cost-per-conversion of 259.52 UAH is on the high side, likely due to these conversions occurring at the top of the sales funnel.

The Competitor campaign serves as an effective source of incremental conversions, albeit at a higher cost-per-acquisition of 179.75 UAH.

A period-over-period performance comparison to identify key shifts in core metrics:

During the reporting period, ad campaigns delivered a substantial uptick in efficiency, significantly outperforming the previous month's key metrics.

• Clicks surged by +92.20%, with campaigns generating 2,414 visits while maintaining a stable average CPC of 7.37 UAH (-9.60%).
• Conversions skyrocketed by +104.69%, reaching 493.97 conversions, effectively doubling previous figures. This trajectory highlights successful optimization and scaling efforts.
• Cost-per-conversion dropped by -15.12% to 36.01 UAH. Achieving a lower CPA while simultaneously scaling conversion volume demonstrates that the advertising spend has become significantly more cost-efficient.
• The Conversion Rate (CR) climbed by +19.89% to reach 20.46%, indicating a marked improvement in traffic quality and ad relevance.

In terms of conversion volume, the Ukrainian-language service campaign is the top performer - delivering a surge in conversions alongside a significant drop in cost, which validates our semantic expansion and optimization efforts.

The Local PMax campaign generated a +114.96% spike in conversion volume and boasts the highest conversion rate at 31.71%. While the CPA increased by 11.55%, the conversion volume more than doubled, fully justifying the slight uptick in cost.

The Brand campaign also saw a substantial increase in conversions while maintaining an acceptable price point. +22.10% boost in CTR points toward heightened brand awareness or increased market demand.

The Competitor campaign grew by nearly 50% in volume with a marginal decrease in CPA, confirming its value as a tool for capturing high-intent traffic.

As planned, the optimization proved highly successful, delivering a 100%+ surge in conversion volume while simultaneously reducing the average CPA by 15%. The primary growth drivers were the Performance Max campaign and the Ukrainian-language search campaign.

These optimization results clearly demonstrate a significant uptick in lead generation, confirming that we have successfully met the client's core objectives.